Luke 12

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

In the meantime a when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, b Beware of c the leaven of the Pharisees d which is hypocrisy. e Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in f private rooms shall be proclaimed on g the housetops.

Have No Fear

“I tell you, my friends h do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him i who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.
Greek Gehenna
Yes, I tell you, fear him!
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Greek  two assaria; an assarion was a Roman copper coin worth about 1/16 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)
And l not one of them is forgotten before God.
Why m even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; n you are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

And I tell you o everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge p before the angels of God, but q the one who denies me before men r will be denied s before the angels of God. 10 And t everyone who speaks a word u against the Son of Man v will be forgiven, but the one who w blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11  x And when they y bring you before the synagogues and z the rulers and aa the authorities ab do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12  ac for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13  ad Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, ae Man af who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, ag “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, ah “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself ai What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my aj barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ak for many years; relax al eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him am Fool! an This night ao your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared ap whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one aq who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

22 And he said to his disciples, ar Therefore I tell you as do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24  at Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. au Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his av span of life?
Or  a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin
Some manuscripts  Consider the lilies; they neither spin nor weave
yet I tell you ay even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you az O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor ba be worried. 30 For bb all the nations of the world seek after these things, and bc your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead bd seek be his
Some manuscripts God’s
kingdom bg and these things will be added to you.

32  bh Fear not, little bi flock, for bj it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you bk the kingdom. 33  bl Sell your possessions, and bm give to the needy. bn Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with bo a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34  bp For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

You Must Be Ready

35  bq Stay dressed for action
Greek Let your loins stay girded; compare Exodus 12:11
and bs keep your lamps burning,
36 and be like men who are bt waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and bu knocks. 37  bv Blessed are those servants
Greek bondservants
whom the master finds bx awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you by he will dress himself for service and bz have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39  ca But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour cb the thief was coming, he
Some manuscripts add would have stayed awake and
would not have left his house to be broken into.
40 You also must be cd ready, for ce the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

41 Peter said, “Lord cf are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42 And the Lord said, Who then is cg the faithful and ch wise ci manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43  cj Blessed is that servant
Greek bondservant; also verses 45, 46, 47
whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
44 Truly, I say to you cl he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master cm is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and cn get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come co on a day when he does not expect him and cp at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47  cq And that servant who cr knew his master’s will but cs did not get ready ct or act according to his will, will receive a cu severe beating. 48  cv But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating cw will receive a light beating. cx Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Not Peace, but Division

49  cy “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50  cz I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how da great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51  db Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? dc No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, dd father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Interpreting the Time

54 He also said to the crowds, de When you see df a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And dg when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be dh scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! di You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settle with Your Accuser

57 And why dj do you not judge dk for yourselves what is right? 58  dl As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, dm you will never get out until you have paid the very last dn penny.”
Greek lepton, a Jewish bronze or copper coin worth about 1/128 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)

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